Santa Fe police expressed frustration on Wednesday as they said illegal immigrants who were arrested on various different charges are ending up back on the streets time after time.

Police said theyre frustrated that they keep arresting the same criminals over and over when there's supposed to be a system in place to prevent that.

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Mario Orantes-Munoz, 22, is a wanted man. Police said he's accused of breaking into someone's home and stealing two powerful rifles. In June, he was also charged with burglary. According to his records, Munoz is not in this country legally, and in June, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement put a detainer on him.

"Somebody's dropping the ball," said Lt. Louis Carlos, of the Santa Fe Police Department. "These suspects have an immigration detainer, meaning Immigration takes control of them. And somehow, they're ending up back on the streets of Santa Fe."

When ICE puts an immigration detainer on an inmate, the Santa Fe County Jail director said they will hold that inmate for an extra 48 hours. ICE officials have that window of time to come pick the accused up.

The detainers are not always honored, police said, but it's not yet clear where the loophole lies.

"We honor those detainers," said SFCJ Director Annabelle Romero.

The jail director said she follows all proper procedures.

"They are held based on the detainer for a period of time, in which Immigration may or may not pick them up," Romero said.

The jail director said ICE officials show up almost every day, and most of the time they take the accused illegals with them.

"I think that the issues fall within other jurisdictions or other parameters," Romero said.

Santa Fe police said, sometimes, they bring inmates with immigration detainers to other county jails to make sure ICE can take custody of them.

KOAT-TV presented a long list of questions to ICE officials and is still waiting to hear back.

ICE is the only agency that has the authority to put immigration detainers on inmates. On the agency's website, it says it goes after individuals who present the biggest threat to public safety.